After a nice summer break, I am heading back to work as the chaplain at St. John’s College High School in Washington. Your work may pick up as well as we ramp back up to full speed in the fall.
Students of all ages are returning to their work of education – and work it is. Among the classroom, homework and activities, they put in their eight-hour days (or more). Even the most gifted students must work hard to continue growing and developing the abilities God has given them.
It’s fitting, then, that we begin our “new year” with a national celebration of workers and hard work. The first Monday in September became a national holiday 130 years ago, and this year, Labor Day comes early on Sept. 2.
Work sounds burdensome and unenjoyable, and it can be. It is also necessary and even part of God’s plan for us. Jesus himself worked as a carpenter. St. Paul was almost parental when he exhorted the Christians in Thessalonica: “In fact, when we were with you, we instructed you that if anyone was unwilling to work, neither should that one eat.” (2 Thessalonians 3:10)
More recently, Pope Francis talked about the dignity and even holiness of labor. In 2022 in his General Catechesis on St. Joseph, he said:
“Today, we should ask ourselves what we can do to recover the value of work; and what contribution we can make, as the Church, so that work can be redeemed from the logic of mere profit and can be experienced as a fundamental right and duty of the person, which expresses and increases his or her dignity.”
His view is consistent with Pope Leo XIII, who in 1891 released the encyclical Rerum Novarum, which translates literally into “Of Revolutionary Change.” It is also called “Rights and Duties of Capital and Labor.” This groundbreaking document is the foundation of modern Catholic social teaching and is considered the Magna Carta of social justice.
Shortly after the Industrial Revolution began in the 1870s, the United States and Europe shifted from agrarian economies to industrialized nations in which factories became the way of the land. Leo XIII noticed unfair labor practices developing, like women and children working excessive hours for inappropriate and inadequate wages. Working conditions were sometimes inhumane, as was the treatment of workers.
Pope Leo stated that workers have a right to seek fair labor practices and be treated with dignity, and Rerum Novarum gave rise to the seven principles of Catholic social teaching that still hold true today. I think they are sometimes the Church’s best kept secret, which they should not be.
When I was leading Catholic Charities, I gave a talk to about 500 local teachers and catechists. I asked how many knew the Ten Commandments, and almost all raised their hands. I then asked how many knew the seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit. Fewer hands went up, but most people had the answer.
Finally, I asked, “How many of you know the seven principles of social justice?” Just two people raised their hands.
Do you know them? Chances are you don’t. That’s not a knock on you or the teachers I spoke to or anyone else, but we need to do a better job learning these principles and teaching them to others.
To get you started, here they are…
Life and Dignity of the Human Person: Every person has dignity. We are created by God in God’s image.
Call to Family, Community, and Participation: We honor this dignity through society. The best way to do that is to support families and seek the common good in our communities.
Rights and Responsibilities: Human rights must be protected, especially the right to life. With those rights come responsibilities to each other and to society.
Option for the Poor and Vulnerable: Jesus is clear that taking care of the poorest and most vulnerable among us must be a priority.
The Dignity of Work and Rights of Workers: Work allows us to participate in God’s ongoing creation. We all have the right to productive work, fair wages, organization and unions, private property, and economic initiative.
Solidarity: We pursue justice and peace as we live in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Christ all over the world. We pray for and help those who are starving, refugees, victims of trafficking and all who are left behind.
Care for God’s creation: We are stewards of the Earth and all God creates. Pope Francis reemphasized this in his 2015 encyclical Laudato Si’, “On Care for Our Common Home.”
Those are the seven principles of social justice. Next time a speaker asks if anyone knows them, you can raise your hand. More than that, we are called to live these principles at home and in our schools and offices.
As we begin a new school and work “year” for many of us, and as we honor the dignity of work and workers, let us reflect on how well we live these principles and bring them to our families, communities, work and school, and our Church.
May we be the people of justice and peace they call us to be.
(Msgr. John Enzler serves as the mission advocate of Catholic Charities of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington and is a chaplain at his alma mater, St. John’s College High School in Washington. He writes the Faith in Action column for the archdiocese’s Catholic Standard and Spanish-language El Pregonero newspapers and websites.)
